Thursday, August 16, 2018

Shown below are two old photos I have. Both are, unfortunately, undated but they tell the tale of the Bomberger's Distillery and Michter's. The first photo, I would put probably post-Civil War era. The distillery is basically still an agricultural operation- local surplus grain is converted to whiskey for the local residents. My guess would be at the time of the photo, it would have been named the Bomberger Distillery. The second photo shows a vastly different scene- several large warehouses, a commercial distillery, and other various outbuildings. By the late 70's Michter's was available across the US, and even over in Japan at times. The distillery was now a popular tourist attraction and the decanters had become well-known. Dark times were right around the corner, unfortunately, as the distillery rapidly lost sales, encountered money issues, and finally closed in 1990. These two pictures show what was- in two forms, as a small farm distillery, and a distillery that was shipping their whiskey all over the US and elsewhere. And yet it never lost it's quaint and historical feel. And I still don't think it has today!

Let's preface this by saying I am referring to the product of the original Michter's from Schaefferstown, PA. Not the modern line of products coming from Kentucky. From the Bomberger Distillery a few miles outside of Schaefferstown came the product I so love, collect, and write about- Michter's Original Sour Mash Pot Still Whiskey *Said all in one breath*. Read it again. Notice something? A something that is also missing from the Jack Daniel's label? Keen whiskey drinkers would notice there is no "rye" or "bourbon" on the label. No, it's not because there's some devious plot to pipe Jack to PA secretly. The reason for "bourbon" not appearing on the ol' No. 7 is a different reason than why it does not appear on Michter's labels.
Let's start with what makes a bourbon a bourbon and what makes a rye a rye. I won't go into each and every detail so this doesn't get confusing for those not as acquainted with American whiskey laws and regulations. Under Title 27, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 5, Subpart C, 5.22 "The Standards of Identity" you'll find (b)(1)(i) stating the following:

“Bourbon whisky”, “rye whisky”, “wheat whisky”, “malt whisky”, or “rye
malt whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a
fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted
barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored at not more than
125° proof in charred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of
such whiskies of the same type.

What does this mean in layman's terms? When you're making bourbon, you've got to have at least 51% corn in the mix. Rye gets at least 51% rye grain and so on. It can't come off the still at more than 160 proof and it can't go into a new charred oak (Very important!) barrel at more than 125 proof.

And with that, Michter's Original Sour Mash Pot Still Whiskey- YOU'RE DISQUALIFIED!!

Why? Well, the creator of the Michter's brand, Mr. Lou Forman, wanted something unique. He saw the popularity of Jack Daniel's and knew of the coming of Maker's Mark- both unique whiskeys for their time. Mr. Forman wanted a slice of this market. So he didn't just want to create another bourbon, or rye, or blended whiskey. Michter's isn't a blend. It contains no neutral spirits. It's not a bourbon. It's not a rye. It's not corn whiskey either. What is it?

Whiskey.

Yep.

Just. Whiskey.

Michter's does not meet the qualifications to be called a bourbon, rye, or corn whiskey. Nor anything else. Michter's, by mashbill (Recipe), is closest to bourbon. However, it does not contain the required 51% corn to be called a bourbon. While it was distilled below 160 proof and went into its barrel around 108-115 proof, it's already been disqualified on the mashbill from becoming anything but "whiskey." But there's more. To keep costs lower, if freshly emptied barrels were available, they were filled with the newly distilled Michter's. So now we have a second disqualification. Only corn whiskey is allowed to be aged in reused barrels (Corn whiskey must contain 80% or more corn in the mashbill). Even if Michter's had the required 51% corn, it would get disqualified by being aged in reused barrels. Not all Michter's was aged in reused barrels though. Some was aged in new barrels. My bulk whiskey inventory lists from the 1980's confirm this, as did Dick Stoll (Master Distiller at Michter's from 1976-1990). But ultimately, they were all dumped together when bottling batches of Michter's.

Whiskey. That's it. The Original Sour Mash Pot Still part is just fluff. It was sour mash whiskey, that is true. And it did come out of a pot still. Original? Sure, why not. Does it make Michter's inferior? Absolutely not. It's like saying Jack Daniel's would be inferior just because it was subjected to the Lincoln County Process. Michter's was and is regarded as a quality product. And with the odd mix of barrels that made up the small batches, some bottles and decanters have a bourbon flavor, while others have a more rye-ish character. I haven't had a bottle I didn't like!

So there you have it. A unique product that was purposely disqualified from certain titles by its creator just so it could be something unique. And unique it was. The modern day Michter's in Kentucky makes a Sour Mash whiskey that is made to replicate the Original stuff, and I've tried them side-by-side and it's worthy of its name. The folks in Kentucky also make a nice lineup of other whiskies under the Michter's name that include bourbons and ryes that are worth finding and trying. Even the original Michter's in PA made some bourbons and ryes, but generally either sold the whiskey to other companies for bottling or they would bottle it under other names. The only bottling that's ever been confirmed of Michter's that wasn't just "whiskey" was a one-off bottling of straight rye whiskey that was sold exclusively through the Jug House at the distillery. The Michter's Original Sour Mash Pot Still whiskey is still out there. Not on the shelf of your liquor store, but it's out there. And it's worth the money to check it out. It does taste different. And it's good.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

After years of hard work, planning, and getting things just right, the day has come. Stoll and Wolfe Distillery is open for business. You're now able to experience a distillery and tasting room unlike anything else in the heart of what was rye whiskey country. Stoll and Wolfe is a continuation of sorts. See, when Dick Stoll received the call from the bank to shut down the Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown in 1990, there was no official end. It was assumed at the time that a new operator would be found by the bank in short time and they'd be back at it. That day never came. The doors stayed locked. Eventually the whiskey was all removed and destroyed by the government. Mr. Stoll never retired from Michter's. No, he retired instead from a local school district, denied a final farewell from distilling. But maybe it's because there would be a new beginning for him? Yes, this is where Stoll and Wolfe begins. While Erik, his wife Avianna, and father Jim Wolfe put it all together, they wanted to give Dick the chance to be involved with what he so loved years ago. And to some day, have a proper send off- the opportunity to say "Ok guys, now I'm ready." And though over a quarter century has gone by, he hasn't forgotten much, if anything. I've asked him very specific questions about the process of distillation at Michter's and he knew the exact answers. During the opening festivities, S&W released the first of their batches of rye whiskey. This whiskey was distilled in Virginia by the Wolfes and the Stolls (Dick met his wife Elaine at the distillery when she was hired as a tour guide. Elaine has many fond memories of the distillery just like Dick and is also a wealth of great knowledge). Dick was involved with coming up with the mashbill and the actual distillation and barreling of the product. Have I tried the rye? Yes. It's wonderful. For only being about a year to year and a half old, it's a great balance. Butterscotchy and lightly oily and grainy on the tongue. Astringent and slightly dry on the finish. And it will only get better as more time in the barrel influences the distillate. While the tasting room is open, the distillery will begin operation in the next few weeks. There are some finishing touches that need done and test runs will commence. And of course you can expect the same quality in future batches. So, stop by. Have a drink. Or two. Buy a bottle. Or two. Chat with Erik, Avi, Jim, and the others. You'll learn something, guaranteed.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

While taking a tour of Michter's the tour guide would be sure to take you into the Bomberger's Warehouse, which was the oldest standing building on the site during the Michter's era. In it were several things- an old barrel weight scale, some aging barrels of whiskey, occasionally barrels of purchased Scotch may have even been stored there before bottling. But the centerpiece was a large diagram showing in simplified view the entire distilling process at Michter's from grain to barrel.

Much has been written and said about the small still arrangement that once sat in the Still House and produced about a barrel a day of whiskey. Those stills exist today and were most recently restored and used by Tom's Foolery Distillery in Ohio. They are now in the possession of the modern day Michter's and the plan is to use them in their downtown Louisville, KY location once it is renovated. Little has been said or seen of the large scale- and I use that term loosely as they still only produced maybe 50 barrels a day- distillation process that produced the vast majority of Michter's and Pennco's whiskies and other spirits (Yes, they made more than whiskey, just not very often!). All the grain was stored and milled in the same location, but the grains destined for the pot stills in the Still House were then bagged and carried over to the Still House. Mashing and fermentation took place in the Fermentation building in large steel vats. After fermentation was complete, the distiller's beer was pumped under the creek in a pipe into a concrete vat under the Still House. From there it was run through a column still (Woah! Woah! Whoa! Yea, your "pot still whiskey" took a trip through a *gasp* column still!). Here's where it get controversial. After running through the column still, it took a trip into what Michter's called a "pot still." Some may call it a "doubler", others a "thumper". But it was run in batch form and not continuous form like the column still, so Michter's felt it appropriate to call it a pot still- thus maintaining the "Pot Still Whiskey" name. I believe it was Sam Komlenic that called it "One of the most controversial pieces of distilling equipment..." during a walk through of the distillery about 7 years ago. But that's neither here nor there anymore. The main distilling equipment is all gone, falling victim to the scrappers torch during demolition of the Still Tower and Fermentation Building. Michter's also had a large spent mash drying and processing facility. Used fermented mash was pumped over to the Grain Drying Building where it was dried out in a process that included evaporators, dryers, and the addition of sweet syrup. The end result was excellent cattle feed that was happily gobbled up by local steers and cows.

So about that diagram. In order to convey to the tour taker the uniqueness of the Michter's distillation process, the entire process was explained in good detail using a large, easy to understand diagram. It had not only the process from grain to barrel, but even included how the spent mash was dried and prepared as cattle feed. Pipes connected stills and tanks to show flow and each component was clearly labeled. Here's a great old scan of a slide showing the chart:

Here's another during a tour:

Lastly, here's a photo of the column still (Behind the Still Operator) and the controversial pot still:

Friday, December 30, 2016

Has he branched outside of Michter's for his collection? Has he gone nuts? No. Yes. But that's a different story. Back to this strange decanter....

Here's an odd little gem. Original Proof Rye. While all the modern day distillers are touting their single barrels and barrel proof offerings,
again, a little distillery in the PA countryside beat them to it. Yup.
You guessed it- Pennco/Michter's. Looking at this decanter, you'll first notice
a striking similarity to the original batch of Michter's "crocks" that
were released from ~1957 until 1970. You'll see it has green text, it's
the same size, and has the same glaze. On the bottom, it even has the
mysterious #153 on it (Only thing I can figure is that that was the part
number from the maker of the decanters at that time.). The only
difference is the text. Note that this was a bottling sold by M.
Lehmann, Inc. Not much info exists about this company, but it was most
likely one of a plethora of wholesale distributors that had proprietary
brands made for them. Note too that this dandy of a whiskey was a
straight rye whiskey, unlike Michter's, which was always simply a "Pot
Still Whiskey." So we know for sure what resided in this bottle. Note
too that the bottle is numbered and the cask number is listed, along
with a proof of 101.1. Pretty cool, especially considering the era in
which this would have been bottled and sold! It's also a solid 6 years
old, which, in my opinion, is plenty for a good rye. But 101.1 as
original proof? Indeed. Distillery distillation proofs, and more often,
barrel entry proofs have risen over the years. Michter's and their
predecessors would enter whiskey into the barrel at much lower proofs
than most modern distillers today. Dick Stoll told me that they for many
years put the white dog into the barrels at 109 proof, later they rose
to 115 proof. So an ending proof of 101.1 is certainly feasible or at
least not that far off what it would've entered the barrel at. A keen
eye would note that on the decanter, there is no mention of Michter's or
Pennco, but only a "Hammer Creek Distilling Company, Schaefferstown,
Pennsylvania." During the time this would have been bottled, Michter's
only existed as a brand and not a distillery. The distillery that became
known as Michter's was still called Pennco. I've written before about
this subject, so I won't go in depth here. But, during the Pennco era,
they went under many names. Hammer Creek is just another one. I have a
binder full of Pennco labels, and I'd bet there are at least a half
dozen or more names the distillery was using at that time. I don't know
why this was done, but there must've been some purpose. This practice
still remains today. Look at the back of a bottle of Evan Williams or
Old Grand Dad and it does not say Heaven Hill or Jim Beam. We can only
guess at how good the rye was inside this bottle, but, as history has
shown us, there was little, if any, whiskey that left that distillery
that wasn't spectacular. Without further ado, the pictures: